Post by Bazpan on Oct 21, 2018 21:14:04 GMT
Now that the Mzansi Super League looks like it'll actually take place, I should probably stop polluting the Hundred thread with this stuff. Here's just a couple of arbitrary observations on Cricket South Africa's bid to join franchise T20 high society.
Cape Town's Ram Slam T20 team is called the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras. Eleven Cobras players have been drafted into MSL teams. Six of those players will appear for the Cape Town Blitz, and five will play for other teams.
It's even worse at Durban. Their Ram Slam T20 squad, the Hollywoodbets Dolphins, is contributing 15 players to the MSL. When attending MSL games, Durban fans (now supporting Durban Heat) will be able to cheer on six of those players. The other nine, as and when they turn out at Kingsmead, will be playing for the other side.
Just as an aside, I didn't realise how relaxed they are in South Africa about the confluence of cricket and betting. Over here, team names such as the SkyBet Sharks or the Foxy Casino Spitfires might attract some concerned looks.
The MSL will be somewhat shorn of star quality for much of the tournament. South Africa's T20I players have their last game in Australia the day after the MSL starts on 16th November. A bigger problem is that other MSL 'marquee players' such as Eoin Morgan, Universe Boss, several others, could possibly make the start but they're due in Sharjah five days later on 21st November for the T10. That goes on until 2nd December, so the T10 contingent will barely make the last two weeks of the month-long MSL (ends 16th December).
The tireless Morgan's franchise schedule is quite congested. After the MSL finishes on 16th December he's only got a couple of days off before the UAE T20x starting on the 19th and continuing until 11th Jan. But that might be his lot until England's limited-overs engagements in the Caribbean four weeks later. The Pakistan Super League coincides with that tour, and Morgan will presumably eschew the Bangladesh Premier League (5th Jan to 8th Feb) for security reasons.
The team names are geographical. Of course that's old thinking according to the ECB, but The Hundred is being aimed at a new audience who don't even feel any attachment to cricket, never mind places. (Just bring a love of fireworks). Whereas, CSA are clearly expecting existing cricket fans to support their local teams. I wonder how that works out when your favourite players turn up playing for the opposition, as is inevitable when domestic players are distributed according to a draft or auction process.
I compared a couple of regional squads for the Ram Slam (South Africa's equivalent of the T20 Blast) with the corresponding Mzansi Super League teams:-
Cape Town's Ram Slam T20 team is called the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras. Eleven Cobras players have been drafted into MSL teams. Six of those players will appear for the Cape Town Blitz, and five will play for other teams.
It's even worse at Durban. Their Ram Slam T20 squad, the Hollywoodbets Dolphins, is contributing 15 players to the MSL. When attending MSL games, Durban fans (now supporting Durban Heat) will be able to cheer on six of those players. The other nine, as and when they turn out at Kingsmead, will be playing for the other side.
Just as an aside, I didn't realise how relaxed they are in South Africa about the confluence of cricket and betting. Over here, team names such as the SkyBet Sharks or the Foxy Casino Spitfires might attract some concerned looks.
The MSL will be somewhat shorn of star quality for much of the tournament. South Africa's T20I players have their last game in Australia the day after the MSL starts on 16th November. A bigger problem is that other MSL 'marquee players' such as Eoin Morgan, Universe Boss, several others, could possibly make the start but they're due in Sharjah five days later on 21st November for the T10. That goes on until 2nd December, so the T10 contingent will barely make the last two weeks of the month-long MSL (ends 16th December).
The tireless Morgan's franchise schedule is quite congested. After the MSL finishes on 16th December he's only got a couple of days off before the UAE T20x starting on the 19th and continuing until 11th Jan. But that might be his lot until England's limited-overs engagements in the Caribbean four weeks later. The Pakistan Super League coincides with that tour, and Morgan will presumably eschew the Bangladesh Premier League (5th Jan to 8th Feb) for security reasons.
The President of the Abu Dhabi T10 League resigned last month, citing "lack of transparency, unprofessionalism, and no proper structure" and lack of "proper systems and monitoring". He makes them sound like the ECB!